War On WikiLeaks: The US government is openly manipulating the judicial proceedings in #Assange's extradition case while Belmarsh prison continues to violate his human rights by denying him the ability to prepare his defense. @WikiLeaks #FreeAssange
@wikileaks During a hearing this past Monday, a UK judge denied Julian #Assange’s request to delay his extradition trial by 3 months. 
He is accused of conspiring with Chelsea Manning to obtain and publish government documents and is being persecuted for exposing US war crimes, US torture, and embarrassing state secrets.
The delay was requested because Belmarsh prison is preventing #Assange from preparing for his defense, a blatant violation of his human rights.
Assange’s attorneys also need more time to validate evidence from a criminal case in Spain where the CIA stands accused of spying on Assange and his lawyers when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was CIA director. mintpressnews.com/us-complicit-j…
They also asked for a separate hearing to determine if the extradition treaty even applies to #Assange’s case, arguing that he's facing political charges. The judge denied it.
According to former British diplomat Craig Murray who attended the hearing on Monday, US government officials were there advising UK prosecutors in an attempt to influence foreign judicial process.
Corporate media failed to report these disturbing facts.
Corporate media failed to report these disturbing facts.
And in an effort to hide the UK court’s flagrant disregard for the law, the judge moved future hearings to the court at Belmarsh prison where the venue is smaller and the public and media have limited access.
The charges against #Assange do not inclue rape allegations, the 2016 US election, or #Vault7 which exposed the CIA’s arsenal of hacking and malware tools. wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/
The proceedings are “a naked demonstration of the power of the state.” - @CraigMurrayOrg
“The whole thing is a gross absurdity.” - @JohnPilger
“The whole thing is a gross absurdity.” - @JohnPilger
And according to Assange’s attorney, Mark Summers, trying to extradite #Assange is “a political attempt to signal to journalists the consequences of publishing...It’s legally unprecedented.”
Despite the U.S. government’s war on a #freepress and the dangerous precedent set by extraditing and prosecuting a journalist, corporate media continues to blackout what is happening in the #Assange case.
“The US government, or rather, those regrettable elements in it that hate truth, liberty and justice, want to cheat their way into my extradition and death, rather than letting the public hear the truth.” - Julian Assange #FreeAssange
